The Darlington manufacturer's nameplate on the Cookham Bridge built in 1867. For 107 years the private owners charged a toll fee which ceased in 1947 when the bridge became publicly owned. The original bridge was designed by Isambard Brunel, but its high cost favoured the construction of a wooden structure, completed in 1840. However, it lasted only 19 years before rotten wooden piles forced the building of an iron bridge.
Author: P Brodrick